Do ALL the things... Our last full day in London!

Our final full day in London brought us to a few different points of interest. The first being the Tower of London, or officially, "Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London".

You know, I am just shocked that something built almost 1000 years ago is just chilling in the middle of this city, and just so amazingly preserved. It blows my tiny little mind. I mean, what in America is that old besides like... the ground? It's fascinating.

The Tower of London functioned as a treasury, menagerie, prison, and of course, storage place of the Crown Jewels. Built in 1078 by William the Conqueror, it served as a royal residence for 4 centuries where it was then fortified and renovated and then shifted to more of munitions storage and prison. You all know Anne Boleyn right? This is where she was beheaded in 1536. Believe it or not, but the tower even had prominence during the first and second world wars, holding executions and holding prisoners.

During the First World War, eleven men were tried in private and shot by firing squad at the Tower for espionage. During the Second World War, the Tower was once again used to hold prisoners of war. One such person was Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, albeit just for four days in 1941. He was the last state prisoner to be held at the castle. The last person to be executed at the Tower was German spy Josef Jakobs who was shot on 15 August 1941. The executions for espionage during the wars took place in a prefabricated miniature rifle range which stood in the outer ward and was demolished in 1969. The Second World War also saw the last use of the Tower as a fortification. In the event of a German invasion, the Tower, together with the Royal Mint and nearby warehouses, was to have formed one of three "keeps" or complexes of defended buildings which formed the last-ditch defenses of the capital.

Isn't that just crazy? Even before, the Tower of London became one of the main tourist attractions in the city, although I believe a majority of people visit to see Her Majesty's crown jewels. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take photos of them, or even linger too long viewing them. They have conveyor belts like at the airport herding people through the exhibit. There are plenty of pictures of the crown jewels on google but let me tell you, their beauty is absolutely breathtaking. Estimated to be worth around $4 Billion (with a B) dollars, you can see over 140 objects ranging from Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Crown, to the 12th Century Coronation Spoon.

After leaving the Tower of London, wouldn't you know the Tower Bridge was right outside! Mistakenly calling it the London Bridge, Greg so politely let me know that I was indeed wrong. Shocking. We had to get to the National Gallery so we didn't have time to go see it up close but even at a distance, it was amazing. On the river Thames however, we did see a freakin' UBER BOAT! The UK is a weird place! Apparently you can just uber boat from one side of the river to the other, how cool is that?!

The National Gallery is an art museum located Trafalgar Square. Founded 197 years ago, it holds over 2300 paintings spanning 800 years. Arezzo's Virgin and Child Enthroned is the oldest painting dating back to 1263. You can see paintings from the likes of van Gogh, Leonardo Davinci, Renoir, and so many more of the greats throughout history. I didn't take many pictures here because there would've been thousands. You can tour the National Gallery online on their website though. We did have a change to see one of their featured exhibits, Conversations with God: Jan Matejko's Copernicus which was housed in this beautiful wing with astronometers, paintings and a breathtaking celestial motif.

After leaving the National Galley, we decided to take a detour and head to the Royal Society of Chemistry. We did pass what I assume was a theatre district since I saw so many marquees of hit Broadway plays which was pretty exciting. Passing Phantom of the Opera and the Heathers, it felt very Time's Square to me.

We made it to the Royal Academy of the Arts and got some shots of Greg posing with the Chemistry building. Isn't he adorable?! (I don't know what he's doing with his foot though?) Unfortunately we got there too late to get tickets and tour the place but the building itself was absolutely beautiful. Definitely on our list of places to visit the next time we're in town. Before heading home to gorge ourselves on Souvlaki, we took another walk through St James Park to see the queens Swans. I love that it gets dark so late here in the summer. 9:30PM and people are just chilling out in the park like its nothing. It was a beautiful end to a fun filled day of adventures!